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Eric Age; Late Twenties  Final Post ~DENOUNCED

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Eric Age; Late Twenties  Final Post ~DENOUNCED

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In cities and towns across Bosnia. Serbian soldiers, officers and resistance forced many Muslims into mosques as a makeshift jail where they were fed very little food and water and were physically abused daily. Serbian soldiers took the Bosnian men and women to concentration camps where they were treated very poorly. As a result, many refugees fled their camps and Eric found the strong desire to help the in need. This later sparked his initial desire to join the navy seals. Firstly, in the text, it states, "After starving them for days, the soldiers offered them pork to denounce the Quran,"(pg 189).

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Eric Age; Late Twenties Nineteenth Post ~BLOOD RUNS THICK

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Eric Age; Late Twenties Nineteenth Post ~BLOOD RUNS THICK

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After Eric's four years away from America in a prestigious college in England. Eric finally undertakes his training as a navy seal in present day. During his training his class grew from a very large group with an abundance of personality to a limited one with stone cold expressions consistent throughout. The will and strength required to endure the tests was unreal. One example was when the seals were forced to hang on to a rope ladder connected to a helicopter after it had been disabled and they were plummeting. In the text, it states, "But as Lucas dropped, the twisted ladder righted itself, and hanging on to the bottom was Greg Hall. Now the helo soared to eighty-feet,"(pg. 171).

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Eric Age; Twenty One. Following the events of the Tiananmen Massacre. Eighteenth Post ~THE BREAKTHROUGH

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Eric Age; Twenty One. Following the events of the Tiananmen Massacre. Eighteenth Post ~THE BREAKTHROUGH

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In Eric's senior year at Duke University he had applied for a full Rhodes scholarship which provided full tuition to the receiver and a small grant to conduct studies. A very small percentage of the college were granted the scholarship, in the text, it states, "...provide full tuition and a small stipend to study at Oxford University in England. Awarded to just 32 American men and women each year,"(pg. 136). All of Eric's prior volunteer work and accomplishments had led him to achieving the scholarship. For the future four years, he had attended schooling in England.

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Eric Age; Twenty Sixteenth Post~ CHILDREN FROM THE STREET

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Eric Age; Twenty Sixteenth Post~ CHILDREN FROM THE STREET

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Eric traveled to Bolivia often called ninos de la calle; Children from the street. The street is polluted by homemade shelters using cardboard and sheet metal. The children lay together in close groups surrounded by dogs to retain heat and comfort. Young women subject to sexual abuse flee to the streets and young children subject to physical abuse from their parents fled to streets. A lot of children snort this "glue" like substance that eases pain almost like a reflex or an instinct. In the text, it states, "Once, I watched a young girl- maybe seventeen years old- tilt a bottle to her nose and breathe deeply. Her eyes were wet and glossy as she set the bottle down on her pregnant belly. I gritted my teeth at the damage she was doing to herself,"(pg. 132). Eric naturally feels awful at the pain the people in Bolivia are doing to themselves.

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UNICEF Bolivia - The children - The Situation of Children in Bolivia

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Eric Age; Twenty Fifteenth Post~ HOMECOMING

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Eric Age; Twenty Fifteenth Post~ HOMECOMING

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Eric arrives in Zaire to monitor repatriation and count the number of immigrants. Upon arriving in Zaire, Eric goes straight to the leader of the refugee camp; one of the largest in the entire nation with a count of 1.4 million refugees after the mass genocide and mass murder between the Hutu and Tutsi. When Eric greets the leader, the leader asks for alcohol and money using crude and vague hand gestures. After Eric has nothing to give the men carefully aim their automatic firearms straight at his chest and Eric begins to panic and think of an escape. The second the fight is to break out an American woman approaches the entire group with cookies and juice to calm the militants. This part of the story is extraordinarily simple however, it depicts the massive differences between the United States and third world countries that aren't being showcased by the media. In the text, it states, "I tried to imagine a boy soldier on the streets of an American streets and I couldn't picture it,"(pg. 124).

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Eric Age; Eighteen Fourteenth Post ~AWAKENING

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Eric Age; Eighteen Fourteenth Post ~AWAKENING

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Eric discovered his love for photography and recording issues in the world and publishing them on to the media for the rest of the world to see, however Eric decided he hated being a witness of the issues and instead wanted to be on the front-lines directly dealing with the issues in life. He decided so once he was familiar with the native issues in Croatia this influenced his profound interest in the military. Eric mainly went to Croatia because it was scheduled with his professor for additional credit towards colleges. Instead of realizing the importance of college credit he instead understood that being on the front lines was far more important to him. In the text, it states, "I wanted to be on the ground; on the front-lines, to help other people directly,"(pg. 121). This is a deep memory from Eric's past that he capitalizes on the express his moral decision for joining the military.

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Eric Age; Twenty Two Thirteenth Post ~SORROW

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Eric Age; Twenty Two Thirteenth Post ~SORROW

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This section of the book is a flashback to his past experience with the military to tie in with his boxing training and comparing them. Eric undergoes training with the troops back at the military base and he consistently writes back to his family and the consistently send food and treats with every reply. Eric is to be deployed within a few months after his training as a foot soldier. He ranks the top of his class through training and many of his comrades are cut back from the program and are forced to return home to their families

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Eric Age: Twenty Twelfth Post ~ACCEPTANCE

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Eric Age: Twenty Twelfth Post ~ACCEPTANCE

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This section of the book is a flashback to his past. While teaches his students in China and one of them gives a tape to him to finally portray their country accurately unlike how the American media has. The class graciously thanks him however, Chinese police quickly detain Eric. They suspect that Eric is turning his students against the Chinese government and the embassy. In addition they claim that he is leading a revolution against the government and check his bags and reveal the tape. They question him obviously furious but he quickly explains in the little English they comprehend and they slowly form a new positive opinion of Eric.

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Eric Age: Nineteen Eleventh Post ~ARTIFICIAL HOME

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Eric Age: Nineteen Eleventh Post ~ARTIFICIAL HOME

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Eric has traveled to Bosnia and has volunteered as a caretaker in a refugee camp. Many of the refugees are outraged at his arrival stating that he should've been there ages ago. Eric meets a few trusting refugees and one of them hands Eric a true tape of the massacres and killings to show to the media in the United states similarly to the past events in Thailand and China. Eric hesitantly accepts their tape and continues to export foods to the refugees and hastily sets up shelters.

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Eric Age; Nineteen, Tenth Post ~THE MEDIA'S SQUEAL

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Eric Age; Nineteen, Tenth Post ~THE MEDIA'S SQUEAL

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Eric has taken a semester of Bosnian that way he can travel to Bosnia and assist the civilians after many incidents rooting from the local rebellion including food shortages, mass killings and many injured. The civilians in Bosnia question Eric and wonder why the U.S. aren't helping them and they claim that the U.S. would help them if they had oil. Eric had volunteered to assist the refugees but to his surprise he had found them all relatively clean and well fed unlike how the media has portrayed them. When describing Bosnia, Eric states, "I wondered how it felt to exist in a country where such brutality recently unfolded,"(pg 85)

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Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is warning that in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a crisis is looming if the pace of coordinated humanitarian response does not pick up before temperatures begin to drop. More than 4,000 migrants and refugees are currently living in informal camps along Bosnia's border with Croatia, amidst countless hardships and risks.
A new situation for Bosnia
"This is a new situation for Bosnia, which before this year had not seen significant numbers of people transiting through the country as part of the so-called Balkan route," MSF said in a statement. "Although the stream of people arriving in the country has been rising for months, basic humanitarian conditions in the two largest points of congregation along the border remain alarmingly inadequate."

According to MSF, around 3,000 people are living in and around a deteriorating concrete structure with pools of mud on the floor at the edge of the city of Bihać, near the border Bosnia shares with EU-country Croatia. Just outside the nearby town of Velika Kladuša, some 1,000 more people are living in tents and improvised shelters, with trenches dug around shelters to alleviate flooding from storms.

"Adults, families and unaccompanied children make up the crowd at both spots. They come from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq to flee conflict and poverty in their countries of origin," MSF said.

"The poor humanitarian conditions in Bosnia-Herzegovina's transient border settlements are made all the worse by the sluggish and inadequate response," said Juan Matias Gil, MSF's head of mission for Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. "Not only do they not have access to medical services; they also lack basic assistance such as food, shelter, clothes and hygiene services," Gil said.

Since June, MSF has been working on the ground at both of these sites. It operates a small mobile clinic in cooperation with local medical authorities. MSF said that with winter approaching, there was no time to lose, arguing that "it could be paid with lives if preparations are not organised in time." In Serbia - Bosnia's neighbor country - and along its borders "a collective institutional failure to prepare for winter conditions has left thousands literally in the cold for multiple winters in a row," MSF said.

With more and more countries closing their borders, thousands of migrants and asylum seekers have found themselves stranded in the Balkans. MSF says that in past winters, it has treated people for hypothermia, frostbite, and respiratory illnesses due to people burning plastics and other materials found for warmth.

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Crisis looming in Bosnian refugee camps - Doctors Without Borders

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Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is warning that in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a crisis is looming if the pace of coordinated humanitarian response does not pick up before temperatures begin to drop. More than 4,000 migrants and refugees are currently living in informal camps along Bosnia's border with Croatia, amidst countless hardships and risks.

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Eric Age; Eighteen Ninth Post ~PAIN TRAINED

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Eric Age; Eighteen Ninth Post ~PAIN TRAINED

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This is a flashback to his past experiences. This ties in with his lesson of determination. Eric has entered himself in the testing for Navy Seals. The testing will come many months later when he and twenty other Navy Seal candidates have to undergo extreme conditions. They have been tied down in the beach and forced to endure consistent and rapturous waves on their bodies. One by one they drop in the night and the candidates know because of the gunshots that portray them tapping out. Eric has to utilize his iron will to endure the extreme circumstances to become a Navy Seal

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US Navy Seal Training, start to end. Can you do it?

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Eric had risen as a fighter and had become the best fighter in the entire gym after a few more months he sparred anybody in the entire gym with ease. After multiple tournaments. Eric had discovered his iron will and courage and decided to utilize this for the better. With very little to no money and a burning passion he had invested much of his money into researching about the military programs in his schooling systems. After a while he had decided to look into the branch of Navy Seals

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Eric Age; Nineteen Seventh Post. ~THE FAMILIAR LEGACY

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Eric Age; Nineteen Seventh Post. ~THE FAMILIAR LEGACY

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Eric's grandfather had been a boxer all of his life and he had told Eric many stories about his boxing career and many lessons about respect and hard work and he uses his boxing career as a conduit to portray his lessons. Eric himself enrolls himself in a gym and spars with the strongest guy there and instantly gets knocked out. To the fighters surprise Eric continues to train with the gym and wins a state championship trophy. He learns that hard work and diligence vastly outweigh skill and talent.

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Eric, Age; Nineteen. Sixth Post. ~FOREIGN EDUCATION

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Eric, Age; Nineteen. Sixth Post. ~FOREIGN EDUCATION

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While Eric was in China he had continued to teach English to the transferred students in China from Beijing who hoped to travel to America for their dreams. Their questions about America enlightened Eric about his very lucky and blessed lifestyle. After teaching the students had been in his class for a while, one of them gave Eric a tape of the massacre in China to smuggle out of the country. This motivates Eric to go out of the United States to assist the other countries in the world. Additionally, Eric learned a lot from his students, as he reminisces to his past, he states, "I like it very much, the Chinese people have been very friendly. I learned a lot,"(pg. 33).

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Chinese crackdown on protests leads to Tiananmen Square Massacre

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Chinese troops storm through Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing, killing and arresting thousands of pro-democracy protesters. The brutal Chinese

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Eric, Age; Late Eighteen. Fifth Post. ~CLOSED MINDS

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Eric, Age; Late Eighteen. Fifth Post. ~CLOSED MINDS

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Shortly after Eric had traveled to China he had returned to America and decided to join Duke University. He had received free tuition for four years and he had also received Summer term completely free. Eric had chosen to study public policy. This is most likely because he had seen the terror in violence around the world in the beginning of the year when he had witnessed the massacre of the students. Shortly after Eric had enrolled he instantly hated it and quit from the class. He investigated the grants the school offered and he thought he should form his own adventure in the world and collect international volunteer work with the Red Cross.

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Duke in Durham

Durham's distinctive neighborhoods and thriving businesses combine the friendliness of a small city with tasty dining, lively arts and an entrepreneurial spirit. Durham is diverse, dynamic and a great place to live.

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Durham's distinctive neighborhoods and thriving businesses combine the friendliness of a small city with tasty dining, lively arts and an entrepreneurial spirit. Durham is diverse, dynamic and a great place to live.

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Eric had seen the homeless around his hometown and the homeless had supposedly been supported by caretakers. Eric had told his friend one day that he thought they did very little work and they were lazy. One day Eric was confronted by one of the caretakers and he had asked them what Eric thought they did. Eric gave no reply and the man said, "You think we do nothing," Eric abruptly nodded his head and apologized. The man had told him not to apologize and instead take of his shifts. Eric had soon realized that his shift was incredulously hard and he had instantly regretted what he once thought. Eric had created respect for everyone throughout the city after this incident.  When Eric's friend Bruce is explaining a lesson in self respect, it states in the text, "Bruce took our group to the shelter because he wanted us to understand how other people live,"(pg. 11).

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Eric, Age Eighteen, Third Post. ~A LESSON IN RESPECT

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Eric, Age Eighteen, Third Post. ~A LESSON IN RESPECT

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Eric had decided after high-school he would take a trip out of the country to go visit yet he had never. He had decided to visit China after the massacre of many students to go help them. He had never known how to speak Mandarin or Chinese and he very little money. He had rented a small home over in China and had to have been forced to boil the water found out in the lake. He was told that even touching the lake would give him many diseases and unwanted parasites. Eric had learned a valuable lesson; Someone will always have it worse than you and someone will always have it better.

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Greitens, Eric. Warrior's Heart: Becoming a Man of Compassion and Courage. Turtleback Books, 2015.

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Eric, Age Nine, Second Post. ~A LESSON IN SELF RESPECT

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Eric, Age Nine, Second Post. ~A LESSON IN SELF RESPECT

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At the very young age of nine, Eric never excelled in school, but his parents never discouraged him. Instead of encouraging Eric to improve his grade, they insisted he be kind and respectful to others. This mindset persisted with Eric for the entirety of his life including high-school. Eric flunked high-school and he had no chance at a full ride scholarship and at the young age of nine he determined that he should instead save up. He began to mow his neighbors' lawns and plow their driveway in the winter. He learned a very valuable lesson; Be proud of your job and your work. When Eric is realizing that a job should be done correctly the first time, it states in the text, "Once when one of my brothers and I had spent a tough after-noon working on Roger's yard... "Eric" he said, "you need to come back and finish the job,"(pg.8-9). Eric had left branches in his yard after cleaning and had forgotten to throw them away. This had taught him that a job is only good if it is finished.